SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — San Diego's Metro Arson Strike Team says the Center Fire, which burned 7 acres and forced evacuations for a nearby daycare and homes in Rancho Bernardo on Jan. 22, was started in a homeless encampment.
MAST confirmed this information to ABC 10News via email Thursday morning.
The San Diego Fire-Rescue Department said the Center Fire was reported just before 9 a.m. on Jan. 22 in an area near Bernardo Center Drive and Camino del Norte.
It initially had the potential to grow to 100 acres, but firefighters on the scene managed to stop the forward spread at 7 acres. By 12:30 p.m., all evacuation orders were lifted, per the San Diego Police Department; however, fire crews stayed on scene for mop-up duty into the afternoon.
Rolling Hills Elementary School and the KinderCare located at 11290 Paseo Montanoso were among the locations under the evacuation order, sending parents into a frenzy.
10News spoke to one of the parents who scrambled to pick up their child from KinderCare when the evacuation order went out:
@abc10news Bernardo Fire evacuees scrambled to grab their kids from daycare and essentials from their homes once evacuation orders and warnings were issued Wednesday morning. Reporting by @daniabc10news #BernardoFire #wildfire #breaking #sandiego #fireseason #redflagwarning ♬ original sound - ABC 10News San Diego
As crews responded to this fire, San Diego Fire-Rescue assistant chief Dan Eddy told 10News on the scene that firefighting aircraft had to be downed momentarily since someone flew their drone in the air space above the fire. Eddy emphasized that drones should not be flown over fires as firefighters are responding, especially since the worst-case scenario is a fatal crash.
Recently, SDFD has focused on a new effort to prevent fires at cleared-out homeless encampments.
“Once an encampment is abated and cleaned up, we proactively go through there with our city partners, and we spray treat it to prevent the likelihood of another fire activity,” Deputy Chief Fire Marshall Tony Tosca said.
Data obtained by ABC 10News shows between January and part of Nov. 2024, there were more than 900 fires likely started by an unhoused individual.
10News also requested information on the causes of the fires in Mission Valley and La Jolla; MAST said the Friars Fire cause was still under investigation, while it did not respond to the Gilman Fire.
